♪ ♪ captioning sponsored by cbs >> o'donnell: tonight, the f.d.a. clears the way for a second coronavirus vaccine, as the blitz to vaccinate healthcare workers is underway. a new report finds moderna's vaccine is highly effective and prevents severe covid, meaning new doses could be shipped across the country as early as this week. on day two of vaccinations, thousands of healthcare workers roll up their sleeves for the pfizer vaccine. >> happy birthday! ( applause ) >> o'donnell: tonight dr. anthony fauci says joe biden should get his shot as soon as possible. plus the at-home coronavirus test that gives you results in 20 minutes. major winter storm, more than 60 million in the path, stretching from georgia to new england, with some areas seeing up to 2.5 feet of snow. could the weather disrupt vaccine distribution or delay

holiday gift delivery? breaking with the president. senate majority leader mitch mcconnell congratulates joe biden and kamala harris. >> the electoral college has spoken. >> o'donnell: but president trump still won't concede. plus what role the president- elect wants for mayor pete in his cabinet. dire warning: more than a dozen states tell cbs news they don't have the money to handle covid testing, contact tracing or administering a vaccine. new body-cam video in the case of ahmaud arbery taken moments after his death, how it contradicts the story told by one of the men charged with arbrey's murder. dramatic videos rescuers free a family from a submerged car. plus how a nine-year-old makes sense of the pandemic by watching the news. this is the "cbs evening news" with norah o'donnell, reporting from the nation's capital. >> o'donnell: good evening to our viewers in the west and

thank you for joining us. we're going to begin tonight with another breakthrough in the fight against coronavirus. tonight the f.d.a. says a second vaccine, this one from the drug company moderna, is highly effective at stopping infections and preventing severe illness. that new shot is expected to be for emergency use friday, allowing moderna to start shipping out 6 million doses as soon as this weekend. distribution of pfizer's vaccine is ramping up tonight, too. hundreds of additional hospitals and clinics across the country began giving shots to doctors and nurses today, dramatically expanding the nation's largest vaccination campaign ever. but there are concerns tonight about just how far that program can go without funding from congress, which has still not been approved, and with the fierce snowstorm heading for the east coast, shipments of the vaccines-- along with christmas presents-- could be delayed. about the only thing the storm won't slow down is the spread of the virus. about 1,200 hospitals say people

are getting sick so quickly they are running out of medical staff to treat them. there are now more than 110,000 covid patients in the hospitals here in the u.s. by tomorrow, experts say thousands of them will most likely be dead. we've got a lot of new reporting for you and your family and our team is covering it all. cbs' mola lenghi will lead the coverage tonight off from new york city. good evening, mola. >> reporter: good evening, norah. here at mount sinai hospital in new york which just seven, eight months ago was overwhelmed with covid patients, they just wrapped up vaccinating their first round of healthcare workers. this as we are potentially possibly days away, i should say, from having two authorized vaccines after the f.d.a. review today signaled a strong endorsement. tonight, a sign that vaccine reinforcements could be on the way. the f.d.a. released new moderna vaccine data ahead of the panel vote thursday. the f.d.a. says the vaccine, overall, is 94.5% effective. it's 100% effective in people 65

and older. like the pfizer vaccine, it's given in two doses, but moderna's doses can be stored at normal refrigerator temperatures for 30 days. six million doses could go out as soon as the f.d.a. gives the green light. >> we were kind of starting off with just a 50% requirement, and when we saw the critical number, it was fantastic. >> oh! ( cheers and applause ) >> reporter: this as frontline healthcare workers at another 425 hospitals began getting their shots of the pfizer vaccine, including dr. umesh gidwani. low doctorsfellow doctors and nurses at new york's mount sinai hospital were overcome with emotion. is it hard to believe we've gotten here so quickly? >> it is indeed remarkable. it's a beautiful thing to see seeyone's hopes realized and everyone's hard work rewarded. >> vaccinations done! ( applause ) >> reporter: it was the same scene from chicago to houston, but the covid death toll is mounting, with more than 110,000

thele hospitalized, 76% of the nation's i.c.u.s full. in california, governor gavin newsom is preparing for a surge in deaths. >> 53-foot refrigerated storage units are currently standing by at in counties and at hospitals. we hospitals. we just had to order 5,000 additional body bags. ( bell tolls ) >> reporter: in remembrance, bells at the national cathedral in washington, d.c., rang out 300 times, to remember the 300,000 americans who have lost their lives to the virus. some remember all too well, like dr. gidwani, who in the early days of the pandemic kept a video diary of the daily emotional trauma. >> what could we have done better, what could we have done different, could we have saved another life? >> reporter: but today a new feeling: hope. >> the hope is that this vaccine isll finally extinguish this fire that's been raging. >> reporter: well, health officials continue to stress

that we are not yet in the clear, that this virus continues to spread, partly due to asymptomatic spread, but some good news on that front from the f.d.a. today as they authorized a covid test that you can take at home, receive results at home within 20 minutes, all without a prescription, and it's said to be 91% accurate even among asymptomatic cases, norah. >> o'donnell: wow, that could be a game changer. mola lenghi, thank you. tonight more than 60 million americans are bracing for a powerful nor'easter. ter.same system dumped snow the sam across the central plains today, but the storm is going to intensify before it wallops the east. let's get the forecast now from cbs' lonnie quinn. lonnie, how bad is it going to get? >> well, it's going to get a lot worse than now. you talked about the plains picking up a couple of inches, the storm system as it moves from the plains to the northeast, once it bounces offshore, it will tap into all that atlantic moisture and that's when it blows up. andthe question is this, norah: that once it gets to the northeast, is it cold enough to be all t bw, or will it be a little too warm and maybe some rain mixes in?

right now the rain-snow line sets up right on top of new york city. does new york city see a foot of snow? there's a chance, but if that rain mixes in, chances will be lower. remember, this is a nor'easter, whatever snow is falling the they wet snow will be made more problematic by the wind blowing and power outages a possibility. amount of snow 5-10 inches for the northeast, from new york city to providence, portions of pennsylvania, two feet or more. some indications, possibly 30 inches in parts of pennsylvania. so that's the latest, norah. >> o'donnell: all right, lonnie quinn, thank you so much. tonight senate majority leader mitch mcconnell is accepting the election result for the first time, publicly congratulating president-elect joe biden for his victory. this as mr. biden campaigns in georgia backing his party's bid to take control of the senate from mcconnell and republicans. here's ed o'keefe. >> reporter: president-elect joe biden rallying democrats in georgia today after the

electoral college made his win official on monday. >> i think all of you just taught donald trump a lesson. in this election, georgia wasn't going to be bullied. >> reporter: for over five weeks senate majority leader mitch mcconnell refused to acknowledge mr. biden as president-elect, staying silent as president trump made baseless claims about voter fraud and pressured states to toss out results. today mcconnell gave in. >> the electoral college has spoken. so today, i want to congratulate president-elect joe biden. >> reporter: just minutes after mcconnell's statement, the president showed he hasn't moved on, again tweeting falsely that there's evidence of voter fraud. but senator mitt romney said top republicans must now speak out against mr. trump. >> we need to have people who are strong trump supporters come out and say that as well or you will continue to have this country divided which is pretty dangerous. >> reporter: mr. biden told reporters this morning he and mcconnell are now speaking and will be able to work together.

>> we've always been straight with one another. >> reporter: but the reality is the senate republican majority stands in the way of the biden agenda and that's what brought the president-elect to georgia today. >> i need two senators from this state. i want to get something done. >> reporter: a win by democrats jon ossoff and raphael warnock in january would give democrats senate control. and so mr. biden went after their republican opponents, senators kelly loeffler and david perdue, who supported the legal fight trying to overturn the election results in georgia and other battleground states. >> they fully embraced nullifying nearly five million georgia votes. you might want to remember that come january 5. >> reporter: meanwhile, cbs news has learned mr. biden is set to tap former rival pete buttigieg as transportation secretary. the 38-year-old indiana mayor would be the first openly gay senate confirmed cabinet yfficial. also tonight, mr. biden says he will be vaccinated soon against covid-19 and plans to do so publicly.

as for the biden inauguration, ill be sworn ll be sworn in outside at the capitol, but the usual inaugural parade along pennsylvania will be scaled porter supporters are asked to stay out of washington and to participate virtually. norah. >> o'donnell: ed o'keefe, thank you. no tonight health officials in more alth o dozen states tell cbs news they do not have enough eney to effectively administer a covid vaccine or to continue testing and contact tracing. t trace pleading for billions from the federal government. more now from cbs' nancy cordes in our series "vaccinating america." >> reporter: in this two-county e mon of rural north carolina, the money to fight covid has all but run out. >> we have no indication of future funding past december 30. >> reporter: lisa macon harrison heads the local health locrtment. she says her nurses are running hs oumes after nine months of testing and tracking cases, which have doubled since thanksgiving. >> and listen, i will be calling you next week to check on you

again. exponential.ential. >> reporter: >> reporter: and that's before ign have to mount a campaign to inoculate 100,000 residents. >> we need more people and we need better technology and we eed infrastructure. likensrter: she likens operatio "operation warp speed," the vderal rollout of the vaccine, to a war effort that's leaving yut a key component: public health departments like hers. >> it's as if we've invested in those aircraft, but we're not willing to pay for the fuel to get them off the ground. >> reporter: there are over 3,000 local health departments across the country, and their funding for the first round of ryvid relief expires at the end of this months, just when they're supposed to be ramping up. so, what's going to happen if you don't get that money? >> i don't think that the vaccine distribution will happen as fast as it could. >> we've done nothing, nothing, since march 23. >> reporter: congress has been fighting over a new relief package for months. a bipartisan proposal released

monday would provide $16 billion provide $16 billion for test for testing, tracing and vaccine distribution. pennsylvania alone says it needs hundreds of millions of dollars. mississippi wants 17 million. and in kentucky: >> we're facing a funding cliff. >> reporter: kentucky is the home state of senate leader mitch mcconnell. many states, including your own, say they actually needed that vaccine money months ago so they could plan. how much longer will they have to wait? >> shouldn't have been put in this position. we should have done this a long time ago. we're not leaving until we finish this package. >> reporter: he and the other top congressional leaders are meeting tonight to hash all this out. it is their second meeting of the day-- a sign that they may be nearing a deal, not just over y foine funding, but over money for schools, small businesses, the airlines and other hard-hit industries. norah. >> o'donnell: nancy cordes, thank you. tonight, a record flood of mail is threatening to overwhelm the

u.s. postal service. backlogs and worker shortages means long delays in delivery, yust as the pandemic sends more americans online for holiday shopping and shipping. here's cbs' janet shamlian. >> reporter: if you want that package delivered by christmas, ioday is the ground shipping deadline for most carriers. the volume of packages being shipped is unprecedented. that's put a tremendous strain on the postal service, fed ex and u.p.s. and it's coming at the same time ghe vaccine is being shipped and a winter storm is forecast for much of the east coast. fed ex and u.p.s. are not picking up extra packages beyond what they've already agreed to fr some retailers, and that nd tha crush of items through the post office. >> the only person i haven't seen any real problems with has been amazon. eguave noticed with regular mail it's been coming a little slower. the postal: the postal service service tells cbs news it tells cbs news it does have workers out with covid and they're working to address the issues.

a we come to you from a busy houston post office tonight, all , alhe carriers have hired thousands of seasonal workers and, as always, there are higher-priced options like express delivery if you want to ship it later and still get it there on time, including delivery on christmas day. norah. >> o'donnell: janet shamlian, thank you. tonight, new video has surfaced in the killing of ahmaud arbery. he is the 25-year-old black man who was gunned down in february while his family says he was out jogging. t d new video casts doubt on one suspect's version of what exactly happened. here's cbs' omar villafranca. >> reporter: this police body- sam video taken just moments after ahmaud arbery was after ahmaud arbery was killed shows investigators standing ne 's bodhe young man's body. in the video obtained by our xacksonville station, wjax, officers are seen talking to william roddie bryan at the crime scene. >> you're a passerby coming through? >> not necessarily. >> reporter: bryan recorded the deadly confrontation on his cell phone. video shows aubrey running

through a brunswick, georgia, unighborhood being chased by a truck, and ends with him being killed by travis mcmichael. ( gunshot ) chael.deo was leaked in may, the months after the killing, and immediately sparked national outrage. the mcmichaels were arrested and charged with murder and arbrey's family also wanted brian behind bars. >> i had nothing to do with it. >> reporter: before his arrest, bryan maintained his innocence, saying he had nothing to do with the confrontation and killing of arbrey, but the new body-cam video reveals a different story. >> i pulled out of my driveway, was going to try to block him. he was going around it. i made a few moves at him, you know, and he, he didn't stop. repeporter: bryan was eventually arrested and charged with murder. threeree men have pleaded not guilty and were denied bail. i just spoke with bryan's attorney kevin gough who still

maintains his client was nothing more than a witness to the shooting. in a statement ahmaud arbery's mother wanda cooper jones says she wants all the suspects held ectsy accountable by the law. no trial date has been set. norah. >> o'donnell: omar villafranca, thank you. and there is still much more news ahead on tonight's cbs evening news. an update tonight on the health n a college basketball star who collapsed during a game. and how quick thinking by a good samaritan helped save a family their d in their car. ♪ are you ready to join the duers? those who du more with less asthma. thanks to dupixent. the add-on treatment for specific types of moderate-to-severe asthma.

dupixent isn't for sudden breathing problems. it can improve lung function for better breathing in as little as 2 weeks and help prevent severe asthma attacks. it's not a steroid but can help reduce or eliminate oral steroids. dupixent can cause serious allergic reactions including anaphylaxis. get help right away if you have rash, shortness of breath, chest pain, tingling or numbness in your limbs. tell your doctor if you have a parasitic infection and don't change or stop your asthma treatments, including steroids, without talking to your doctor. du more with less asthma. talk to your asthma specialist about dupixent. if your financial situation has changed, we may be able to help. if your financial situation has changed, chances are you have some questions right now here are a couple answers... lysol disinfectant spray and disinfecting wipes together can be used on over 100 surfaces.

and kill up to 99.9% of viruses and bacteria. unfortunately, we can't answer every question you have right now. lysol. what it takes to protect. with acetaminophenction fights pain in two ways. advil targets pain at the source... ...while acetaminophen blocks pain signals. the future of pain relief is here. new advil dual action. smells more amazing than ever. flings now so their laundry isn't that the dog's towel? hey, me towel su towel. more gain scent plus oxi boost and febreze in every gain fling. - i'm lea.steve. and we live in north pole, alaska. - i'm a retired school counselor. [lea] i'm a retired art teacher. [steve] we met online about 10 years ago. as i got older, my hearing was not so good so i got hearing aids. my vision was not as good as it used to be,

got a change in prescription. but the this missing was my memory. i saw a prevagen commercial and i thought, "that makes sense." i just didn't have to work so hard to remember things. prevagen. healthier brain. better life. >> o'donnell: tonight the university of florida has encouraging news about its star basketball player, keyontae johnson. he collapsed on the court saturday and was placed in a medically-induced coma. ort h tonight we can report he's in stable condition and speaking with family. he had tested positive for covid this summer and it is not known if his collapse is related. islorida man is being hailed as a hero for saving a 4-year-old boy. -year-o police video shows a car upside down in a retention pond, a family of four trapped inside. a boy, four, strapped in a car seat. while bystander jose diaz held ed inead above water, first

responders got everyone out and only with minor injuries. sounds very frightening. up next, how one family is dealing with the pandemic by watching the news together. so, uh, yeah, just a silly mistake. i guess i look pretty... ridiculous. [ chuckles ] no one looks ridiculous, bob. progressive is always here for you with round-the-clock service. just so you know, next time, you can submit a claim with our mobile app. good. thanks again for -- for rushing over. are you kidding? this is what 24/7 protection looks like. okay. -you smell like fish. -sorry. i was talking to jamie. or psoriatic arthritis, little things can become your big moment. that's why there's otezla. otezla is not an injection or a cream.

it's a pill that treats differently. for psoriasis, 75% clearer skin is achievable, with reduced redness, thickness, and scaliness of plaques. for psoriatic arthritis, otezla is proven to reduce joint swelling, tenderness, and pain. and the otezla prescribing information has no requirement for routine lab monitoring. don't use if you're allergic to otezla. it may cause severe diarrhea, nausea, or vomiting. otezla is associated with an increased risk of depression. tell your doctor if you have a history of depression or suicidal thoughts or if these feelings develop. some people taking otezla reported weight loss. your doctor should monitor your weight and may stop treatment. upper respiratory tract infection and headache may occur. tell your doctor about your medicines and if you're pregnant or planning to be. otezla. show more of you.

twto treat acute, non-low back stmuscle and joint pain doctors with topical nsaids first. a formulation they recommend can be found in salonpas. a formulation they recommend can be found in salonpas. salonpas. it's good medicine. hisamitsu. balanced nutrition for strength and energy. whoo-hoo! great tasting ensure with 9 grams of protein, 27 vitamins and minerals, and nutrients to support immune health.

>> o'donnell: we've heard from many of you that it's been a hard year for both you and your children. as a mom, i totally get it. but kids are resilient, and one mmily in massachusetts taught us they also put others first. ♪ ♪ nine-year-old abby hucker's mom sent us a note saying abbey, like most kids, has struggled this year, but that watching the news has helped. >> abby and her little brother are doing okay. i think a big part of that is due to the fact that she gets so many of her questions answered by watching the news. knowledge empowers her to dismiss many of her fears. >> o'donnell: we asked her mom o'de could give abby a call. this is norah o'donnell. .> it is, it really is! >> o'donnell: i wanted to call 'donnell: i wanted to callhing the news. i love that, at nine years old, that you already love journalism. and how is your family doing?

n> good. >> o'donnell: abby's dad, dr. bill hucker, treats covid patients at massachusetts tsneral hospital. tell your dad that we are so proud of the work that he does. what we didn't know is abby's dad is listening. is okay. he's on the phone right now. >> o'donnell: hey, doctor, how are you? >> i'm good. thank you so much. >> o'donnell: one reason abby watches us every night is to learn all she can about the pandemic. d protective gearotective gear was in was in short supply, she offered her tooth fairy money to her erd's hospital. she sometimes goes weeks without ranging him as he quarantines to keep the family safe. >> hi, guys! >> o'donnell: abby's dad is her hero. how's it going? >> it's busy. >> o'donnell: yeah. >> exploding, i would say. i was in the e.r., it's like a zoo down there. >> o'donnell: i'm from a family of doctors so i admire so much what you do and the care that you provide people. >> i really appreciate that. i would say that what you do ersters a ton, too. a ton, too. so thank you for what you so i thank you for what you do and how you do it and how you

this ay this crisis. for everybody at home, i really onnreciate it. >> o'donnell: and when abby grows up, she says she wants to be a journalist. we want to thank her and her family for all that they do and for watching. we'll be right back. 'll be right back. doing all ye type 2 diabetes and heart disease... [crash] ...but could your medication do more to lower your heart risk? jardiance can reduce the risk of cardiovascular death for adults who also have known heart disease. so, it could help save your life from a heart attack or stroke. and it lowers a1c. jardiance can cause serious side effects including dehydration, genital yeast or urinary tract infections, and sudden kidney problems. ketoacidosis is a serious side effect that may be fatal. a rare but life-threatening bacterial infection in the skin of the perineum could occur. stop taking jardiance and call your doctor right away if you have symptoms of this bacterial infection, ketoacidosis, or an allergic reaction... ...and don't take it if you're on dialysis or have severe kidney problems. taking jardiance with a sulfonylurea or insulin may cause low blood sugar.

lower a1c and lower risk of a fatal heart attack? on it with jardiance. we're committed to making jardiance available and affordable. with our savings card, eligible patients pay as little as $0. to syour body needs routine. system, with our savings card, centrum helps your immune defenses every day, with vitamin c, d and zinc. season, after season. ace your immune support, with centrum. who've got their eczema under control. with less eczema, you can show more skin. so roll up those sleeves. and help heal your skin from within with dupixent. dupixent is the first treatment of its kind that continuously treats moderate-to-severe eczema, or atopic dermatitis, even between flare ups. dupixent is a biologic, and not a cream or steroid. many people taking dupixent saw clear or almost clear skin, and, had significantly less itch.

don't use if you're allergic to dupixent. serious allergic reactions can occur, including anaphylaxis, which is severe. tell your doctor about new or worsening eye problems, such as eye pain or vision changes, or a parasitic infection. if you take asthma medicines, don't change or stop them without talking to your doctor. so help heal your skin from within, and talk to your eczema specialist about dupixent. if your financial situation has changed, we may be able to help. if your financial situation has changed, what if your clothes could stay fresh for weeks?t smell clean? now they can! this towel has already been used and it still smells fresh. pour a cap of downy unstopables into your washing machine before each load and enjoy fresher smelling laundry for up to 12-weeks. ...who takes care of yourself. so why wait to screen for colon cancer? because when caught in early stages, it's more treatable. i'm cologuard. i'm noninvasive and detect altered dna in your stool to find 92% of colon cancers... ...even in early stages. tell me more. it's for people 45 plus

at average risk for colon cancer, not high risk. sults may occur. ask your prescriber or an online prescriber if cologuard is right for you. i'll get on it! that's a step in the right direction. i'll get on it! the americans who drive our trucks and ambulances, who put fear aside and run toward the flames. these are the people we depend on. that's why at the ford motor company, our super dutys have undergone 20 million miles of testing. so that these people can depend on us. ♪ >> o'donnell: really excited about this tomorrow. our series "season of giving," how a restaurant owner forced to shut down during the pandemic is still feeding the whole community. and if you can't watch us live, set your dvr so you can watch us later.

that's tonight's "cbs evening news." i'm no

right now, it could mark the beginning of the end of the pandemic. they area vaccinations finally happening. the lingering questions tonight. >> we do not know at this time whether the vaccine keeps people from transmitting the virus.>> you literally see it with your eyes, as a parent the decline in your child's mental health. suffering students in the bay area parents begging for a safe classroom solution. the decision justin from contra costa county, will it increase fines on the is disorders openly defying safety guidelines?>> this is not going to end until people choose to